Converse College invites the community to a program on bullying

Converse College is inviting the community to tackle the issue of bullying with them and are starting their crusade with a video and panel discussion 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

By FELICIA KITZMILLERfelicia.kitzmiller@shj.com

Converse College is inviting the community to tackle the issue of bullying with them and are starting their crusade with a video and panel discussion 6:30 p.m. Tuesday."The Bully Project" is a documentary that follows characters representing every facet of the bullying crisis in America for the 2009-2010 school year. When Caitlyn McAlhaney, a junior elementary education major at Converse, stumbled across the trailer for the movie online, she cried. "All through high school I saw things like this happen to kids and no one did anything about it," she said.She still vividly recalls watching two bigger boys pin her brain damaged friend against a locker and taunt him until he was crying. It's an image McAlhaney, who is from Greer, said she has never been able to forget.McAlhaney's experience is not unique, according to Desmond Cato, Spartanburg School District 7 director of student services."(Bullying) is one of the most pressing issues we see in schools today," he said. "What this can lead to is such a worry. We know it can lead to violence, we know it can lead to students hurting themselves." Converse decided to make bullying its focus for this year's Love-In. The Love-In is an annual event that started three years ago when Westboro Baptist Church protested the school's screening of another documentary, "Anatomy of Hate: A Dialogue of Hope." Converse students decided they couldn't fight the protesters' hate with more hate, and decided instead to turn to love and donned shirts and posted signs about everything they loved. The movement was a huge success on campus and the Student Diversity Coalition made the celebration of positivity an annual event, said club president Arnisha White, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla.Each year the Love-In focuses on a different societal issue, and when McAlhaney, a member of the Student Diversity Coalition, suggested bullying it got a lot of support, White said. Bullying is an issue that has touched everyone in some way, she said. Though White was not a victim of bullying, she said she had friends who were harassed for everything from body odor to hobbies.Though bullying is traditionally considered a middle school and high school problem, McAlhaney and White said it is something college students still need to be aware of."For people who were victims of bullying in the eighth grade, it's followed them," she said. "Things we say or do can unconsciously bring that up for them. … People don't know their behavior really is bullying."The only solution to bullying is for third parties to be educated and vocal about the problem, said Cato, who hopes the community takes an active interest in Converse's program."In these situations we find there's always a victim, there's always a bully, but there's always a witness, too," he said. "What we need is for witnesses to speak up, to not tacitly approve of another's actions by not saying anything."The content of the video is intense, which initially earned it a rating of R from the Motion Picture Association of America. Protesters decried the rating because it meant a large percent of middle and high school students who could gain the most from the video, would not see it. Later, some profanity was decreased and the MPAA revised their rating to PG-13.After the movie, a discussion will be led by Sheryl Moss, director of administration and leadership at Converse; Desmond Cato, director of student services at Spartanburg School District 7; and Carl Mathias, a wrestling coach in Greenville and a former school resource officer. White and McAlhaney said they hope the video's profound content will stimulate a vigorous discussion."We want parents and teachers and principals and the people who see it every day to participate," McAlhaney said.The video will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Montgomery Student Center on the Converse campus. The event is free and the community is strongly encouraged to attend."As a parent, every parent in Spartanburg who hasn't seen this, they need to see it," said Beth Lancaster, director of media and public relations for Converse.

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